Cifer's Log
by Yeomanaxel
Summary: Some people want to find the One Piece. Some people want to catch criminals. Some people just want to be left alone to their experiments. Saving lives? Well, yes, that's what doctors are for.
1. Chapter 1

Cifer's Log, July 19th, 809 A.O.S.

7:56 P.M.

My experiments are progressing well.

Projects #1 and #2 are both in excellent condition, despite hatching prematurely. After studying their broken egg shells, I've come to the conclusion that they will be red dragons, instead of green as I had originally hypothesized. I'm not too disappointed. I would have preferred green, as it is my favorite color, but I like red too. And according to Vegapunk's notes, red dragons have a slightly different physiology that makes them easier to care for. Will have to consult notes in order to verify.

Project #3 is beginning to bear fruit, quite literally. The tree is …unique, to put it mildly, but so is every plant in the Lillianeus Family. In fact, it is quite mundane compared to its grotesque cousin, the Lillianeus Carnaflexus.

During an expedition, last month through the southwestern part of Paradise, I discovered the rotting remains of a Lillianeus Carnaflexus on an uninhabited island. I thoroughly autopsied the dead plant, and found the cause of death to be some sort of precise trauma, mostly likely caused by an arrow or bullet. The plant was thoroughly inoperable, but if half the stories regarding the creature are true, I highly doubt reverse engineering it would be a good idea.

But I ramble, and this log is for scientific exploits pertaining to my own island. Returning to the subject at hand, Project #3, the Lillianeus Molliflexus, is producing a strange, orange fruit that is exceptionally sweet. According to the Moreen's Encyclopedia of Paradise Plant Life, the Molliflexus, commonly referred to as the Molly Carnation for short, is a large red tree with bright golden leaves, and it is adorned with the faces of all that have looked upon it. This includes my face and Arpy's. The tree also naturally produces exceptionally bitter fruit, which means that my genetic engineering has been successful.

These are the only major projects that I am currently laboring over. Over time, I may begin work on Project #4, which will be massive in scope compared to what I am doing now. So massive in fact, that it may fill the entire cavern below my facility. I will have to alert Arpy of my hypothesis right away, so that he may continue to best carry out my operations.

9:33 P.M.

A massive storm is rolling in. The thunder alerted me, and I had to lock up the villa above my facility with the help of Arpy. I doubt the storm will cause much damage. Based on its direction and the dryness in the air, I predict a fierce gale that only lasts within the hour.

10:45 P.M.

I was wrong. Meteorology was never my strong suit, it was Linda's.

10:47 P.M.

Dammit, need more painkillers. Helps ease the headaches. Anyway, the storm will probably continue throughout the night. Just splendid. The dragons are fearful, but Arpy is seeing to them. Despite his origins, he is deceptively good with animals. A possible quirk of his malfunction, but he doesn't know the answer himself. He usually doesn't.

I suppose I should retire now. Feel more worn out than usual.

12:00 A.M.

Something is screaming. At 11:45 P.M. on July 19th, something is screaming on my island.

It's a pitiful scream, but only in relation to the thundering rain and deafening thunder outside. It would probably be ear-numbing on a more peaceful day.

I won't lie to myself, its rather frightful. The scream is clearly one of pain, I've heard cries like it before. And the pain must be terrible, for it to scream so _constantly._ It's fading now, probably due to a sore or possibly torn throat. The creature must be quite strong.

I hope it dies. As a scientist, I understand how blasphemous that sentence is, but the creature must be in horrific agony, and I don't want it to suffer. I think Vegapunk would agree, if he was here with me now.

12:15 A.M.

The screams have faded, thank God. Thirty minutes of shrill cries, throaty whimpers and finally a somber croak. All audible through some of the heaviest rain I've ever seen. Gracious. Will investigate in the morning.

Slightly scared of what I may find.

Cifer's Log, July 20th, 809 A.O.S.

6:33 A.M.

Dear God. Oh, dear God.

I write these words as a prayer, not a curse. What I found today far exceeds everything my macabre imagination dreamed up last night.

The monster is an unholy 50 feet long, 15.24 meters after conversion, and it is covered in pitch-black scales. Its body is reptilian in nature, but this… _thing_ is no dinosaur. Little Garden could not have given birth to this, not if the heavens had rained down the most destructive of mutagens.

The creature bares similarities to the Spinosaurus aegyptiacus, but only in its hind quarters and spine placement. This creature was clearly built for running on all fours. Where the spinosaurous' front legs were little more than clawed, thin appendages, best used for grappling prey, this beast has the front legs of a bear, ending with wickedly sharp claws that appear to have been retractable. In fact, they look a bit like the front legs of a Triceratops horridus, but far thicker.

The creature possesses a monstrous tail, thick and jagged, but probably very maneuverable. It's an astonishing 15 feet long all on its own, and clearly a fair contributor to the creature's weight, which, according to Arpy, is about 4.9 tons.

The tail tapers off like a cat-o-nine whip, but with only half the endings. Five wickedly sharp cords, each tipped with a stinger that looks strong enough to perforate a man a thousand times over without getting dented or dulled. I haven't touched the abomination yet, leaving most of the work to Arpy, but from a glance I would hypothesis the stingers to be made of some sort of enforced calcium that has purposefully ruptured the end of the tail.

Like the Spinosaurus, this creature possesses a spine, its namesake, but it is segmented. Each segment varies between a length of 1 foot to 5 inches, vertical from the back. They travel down the length of the creature from its skull to its aforementioned stingers.

By far the most disturbing part of the creature is its head. It is shaped like an eagle's, but the forehead is slightly larger to accommodate a single eye. The creature possesses a large beak, almost 2 feet in length, and inside are three rows of inch-long black teeth. The neck is very thick comparatively, probably to accommodate a large food intake and a sizable set of vocal cords.

The creature died from blood loss and the rupturing of the aorta, which was penetrated by a large pillar of wood. The blood is an icy white, leading me to believe that the creature creates an overabundance of white blood cells and has a small amount of hemoglobin, comparatively.

The wood that impaled this creature is remarkably sturdy, and I asked Arpy to not disturb it for now. Clearly, this beast could not have come to the island on its own. I am uncertain of its swimming capabilities, but it would not have been able to swim at all impaled like it is. That means there is a wreck on this island. Will investigate further.

10:27 A.M.

I feel dead from exhaustion, but I must write what I have seen. I feel I will go mad otherwise, from the horror of it all.

We found the ship a mere thirty or so minutes after first discovering the creature. It was a marine battleship, standard issue, or at least it was. The masts and superstructure had been almost completely sheared away, leaving behind only a battered, possibly crippled hull. The front and side turrets were still affixed to the ship, but their barrels were gone, ripped off by the storm.

A small hole in the side gave me access to the interior, and what I found was hell something I will take to my grave.

Dried blood was everywhere, as were severed body parts and badly mutilated bodies. Marines clearly, or what was left of them. Dozens of them, in every corridor and on every floor. The ship was a slaughterhouse.

Clearly, the beast had been contained at first, but it must have broken out and started attacking the crew. My theory was confirmed when I entered the bowels of the ship, and found a massive, seastone-infused cage in the center of the cargo hold. Its front had been savagely gnawed upon, then broken completely. In fact, nearly every corpse in the ship had some kind of wound that implies biting. Many were missing limbs, and even torsos, their stumps decorated with sharp imprints. Teeth marks.

There was so much blood caking the walls, so many arms, heads, and guts strewn across the ground, that I was violently ill on the floor no less than three times, one of the reasons I am so exhausted as I write this.

After I had recovered from by third…spilling, mostly of bile at that point, Arpy suggested I return to the villa to recover. I politely ignored his advice. Arpy is not yet proficient at first aid, a consequence of his massive size and strength, and I was determined to find a survivor.

And after searching the ship from top to bottom, I did.

A single woman, young, and in horrific condition. A quick once-over was all I needed to know that she had a shattered ribcage, a ruptured liver, and probably a cracked skull. Her right arm was gone just below the shoulder. But it had been wrapped surprisingly well, enough to staunch most of the bleeding. Her breathing was ludicrously weak, but audible. Thank the Lord.

I couldn't move her, so I had Arpy rush back to the facility with the necessary medical supplies. He was gone and back in just 10 minutes, so fast that I fear he damaged the ship and the villa in his haste. Still, with the needed bandages I stabilized her chest and moved her onto a stretcher.

Arpy carried her to intensive care, where I performed perhaps the most nerve-racking surgery of my entire life. Rib removal, a liver transplant, and an extensive craniotomy. Thank God for my Double-Double Fruit, or there would have been no chance of success.

(All the details of the procedure are listed in my data journal, in my office, should this notebook fall into the hands of the interested.)

As it is, the patient has suffered no brain damage and her internal organs have been stabilized. Liver transplant was successful, but I had to use my last bit of wapometal in order to perform a Synthes Rib Matrix.

Still, I would gladly postpone my experiments if it meant saving someone. That's what a good doctor does, right?

She remains trapped in a deep coma, but she is on the way to recovery. Lord know how she survived in the first place, but miracles are a common occurrence on the Grand Line.

Arpy is watching her now, and I am about to retire for some much-needed rest. There is still much to do, most important of all asking what the hell happened on that ship. Should she wake up, that is.

10:32 A.M.

I recognized the woman. I've never met her before, but it struck me like a lightning bolt as I was trying to get some sleep.

I jumped to my filing cabinets and shifted through the bounties I kept, and there she was.

Cat Burglar Nami, 16 million.


	2. Chapter 2

Cifer's Log, July 25th, 809 A.O.S.

10:00 A.M.

Finally! I must have misplaced this journal in my rush to confirm the identity of Cat Burglar Nami. I must say, I'm quite disappointed in myself. Nearly a full week of searching, and not once did I think to look under the bed.

It's been five days since I discovered the wreck, the creature, and the pirate. The wreck is still trashed, the creature still dead, and the pirate still comatose. None of my experiments have displayed any new or interesting behavior beyond their daily exercises (for more information on those, consult record sheets).

I buried all of the bodies from the ship, with help from Arpy, on July 21st. He dug a mass grave and helped me lower the corpses into it. Some I'll be keeping for further study, especially the remains with bitemarks.

I also made a disturbing discovery. One that, in my haste to find possible survivors, I had missed when first going through the ship. The former captain was none other than Vice Admiral Onigumo, one of the Navy's most proactive officers in the war against piracy.

During my time in the Solomon Facility with Dr. Vegapunk, I had the pleasure of meeting with many of the Navy's top commanders. Some, such as the amiable Momonga and the intelligent Jonathan, would even become good acquaintances of mine. But I would much rather call my time with Onigumo a _dis_ pleasure. Perhaps knowing his power influenced my perception, but he always reminded me of the Atrax robustus, an ugly, venomous spider that resides in the caverns of the Singing Mountains of Sydney. He was a callous and brutish man that had no appreciation for scientific achievement, often terrorizing the interns with his cold stare whenever he visited. Even worse, he once put one of Dr. Noric's secretaries in intensive care when she joked that he should volunteer for the dissection labs.

Despite my dislike of the man, I would have never wished upon him such a horrid fate. His chest had been savagely shredded, and his spider legs snapped off at the joints. He was covered in a putrid slime that had melted the flesh from his human limps. Worst of all was his head, which was nearly two-dimensional, almost as if it had been…squished. Perhaps a fitting end to a spider-man, but a horrific one nonetheless. His face, or what was left of it, bore the look of all-consuming agony.

His body will be thoroughly studied and dissected in my facility, and will greatly assist in my efforts to understand the dead creature. The irony is bitter, yet strangely cathartic.

It just hit me that the creature was strong enough to defeat and maim a highly experienced Vice Admiral, one that had mastery over both types of haki.

I am suddenly very glad that it is dead.

There have been no signs of consciousness from the Cat Burglar. I'm not surprised, considering what she's been through, but still frustrated.

There isn't a lot of available information on her, despite her infamous status as the navigator of the Straw Hat Pirates. Her poster lists her bounty, affiliation, and charges, but nothing else. She's wanted for, and I quote:

"Thievery, brazen destruction of government property, brazen destruction of private property, illegal entry and exit, affiliation with other pirates, affiliation with others affiliated with other pirates, illegal smuggling, and declaring war on the World Government and all of its subsidiaries."

A somewhat redundant but accurate list, if you ask me. I know better than to trust everything the Government claims on a daily basis, but the Straw Hats are infamous enough to stand out on their own, without needless exaggeration. In fact, I'm surprised that the Cat Burglar's bounty is so low, considering the crew she is a part of.

Regarding her condition, I'm not entirely satisfied with her progress. The only things I can take pride in right now is my treatment of her right shoulder and skull, both of which have been wrapped and disinfected to the best of my ability. Liver notwithstanding, her other internal organs were so battered that they were on the verge of failure as well. And even with my power I couldn't do everything at once. "Too many cooks in the kitchen" is a phrase easily applicable to the operating theater. I decided to let them heal on their own, as too much interference can be detrimental, but it's low-going, to say the least. Even the drugs I've administered don't seem to be having much of an impact. I suspect malnutrition has something to do with her slow recovery. At the risk of sounding crude, her figure isn't as pronounced as the poster made it out to be.

The creature has been moved to my biggest storage unit. I double checked its vital signs and was slightly relieved to find that there were none. Even more so considering my stark realization just a few minutes ago.

I've removed the wooden pillar and performed a rudimentary procedure to stop whatever bleeding was still ongoing. I turned the storage area into a freezer to preserve the corpse, but I really must get to dissecting soon.

I honestly don't know why I've been putting it off. I've dealt with far worse. I think.

6:34 P.M.

Perhaps I will go on another expedition, to a more populated area. I think I need more people in my life, if only for a moment. After the Cat Burglar recovers and I turn her in, of course.

Arpy has been complaining about faulty wiring in his system. I checked it out, but found no reason for alarm. Just a simple jarring of the left-central A.P.P.P. core.

Cifer's Log, July 26th, 809 A.O.S.

7:34 P.M

A lot has happened today. Good think I found my journal.

The Molly Carnation's fruit withered, the remains becoming acidic in the process. At the same time, all of the faces on the tree began to bare identical smug expressions.

The damage to the room it was stored in is minimal but noticeable. I doubt I can repair it.

All members of the Lillianeus family possess low-level sentience, but I am still quite flabbergasted at the apparent insidiousness of this entire subsection of Kingdom Plantae. If reports are to be believed, the Lillianeus Carnaflexus can turn a group against each other through its pollen, raising aggression to sometimes murderous degrees. And that's only one of the genera.

If anyone reading this is interested in the Lillianeus family, I've included several copied pages of Moreen's Encyclopedia of Paradise Plant Life.

Cifer's Log, July 27th, 809 A.O.S.

8:09 P.M.

Something is very wrong with the Cat Burglar.

I was in the dragon's lair, as I have begun to call it, to check in on their progress. Both are growing rapidly, but not too rapidly. Vegapunk told me to release them into the wild exactly five months after hatching, but I wasn't sure if that applied to both the green one and the red one.

None of this is important in the context of today's event, however. The dragons were playing together, trying to nip each other's wings, when suddenly they both stiffened, and curled into themselves. Arpy and I rushed to their side, concerned. They were clearly scared out of their wits, shaking slightly as they covered their heads with their paws. It was almost comical, seeing such fearsome creatures act so frightful, but something was clearly wrong. Arpy began humming in order to calm them down, but it only had a marginal effect.

That's when I heard it.

A low, almost inaudible growl, the kind a dog makes when it's been cornered. And it was coming from the Cat Burglar's room. The dragon's lair was positioned right near the medical wing of my facility, so I was only a turn away from that horrible noise. The dragons continued to shake, while I, shaking a bit myself at that point, quietly walked to the room where the pirate was resting.

Cat Burglar Nami's face was set into a deep scowl, her lips peeled back as she snarled. I hesitantly walked over to her side and checked the monitors. Heart rate and blood pressure were the same, but her brain waves had changed slightly. They were no longer at 2 cps, but were now at 3.5, just a few decimals from becoming theta waves. Her brain had never shown this much activity before.

I turned around to alert Arpy, and found myself staring straight into the eyes of the Cat Burglar.

I'm embarrassed to write this, but I screamed. Loudly. I jumped back, then stiffened into a state of near petrification. Nami's eyes were no longer brown. The irises had blackened and the pupils were contracted. The sclera was a dull pink.

And then it was over. The eyes shifted back to their normal color and proportions, and Nami slipped back into a peaceful sleep. This occurred at exactly 3:43 P.M.

As soon as I had regained my senses, I immediately took a blood sample and analyzed it to death. Perhaps I've read too many werewolf novels, but I was concerned that there was some sort of cell mutation. Of the samples I analyzed, between 3:45 to 4:45, I found no oddities or deviations from Nami's cell structure.

After I exhausted myself analyzing blood samples, I began checking the monitors near constantly. I couldn't be sure if another incident was going to happen sooner rather than later. Arpy volunteered to watch over Nami while I rested.

I realized he was right and took a nap from 5:12 to 7:47. I think I had a nightmare. I returned to find Arpy at ease. He told me that there had only been one other incident, in which Nami had made a short coughing noise.

I will be dissecting the creature tomorrow in order to find out what the hell is going on. Cat Burglar's behavior is clearly abnormal; perhaps the fact that she came into contact with the monster has something to do with it.

Cifer's Log, July 28th, 809 A.O.S.

6:30 A.M.

Nami's vitals have improved since yesterday. I expect full consciousness within a week, a marked improvement over my opinion just yesterday. I will have to investigate further to see if what occurred on the 27th improved Nami's condition.

Hm, I just realized that I've referred to the Cat Burglar as only Nami for most of my latest entries. In the interest of preserving my hands comfortableness, I will refer to her as such from now on.

9:45 A.M.

From 7:00 to 9:30 sharp, I autopsied and experimented on the dead creature's body.

I found noth


	3. Chapter 3

Cifer's Log, July 29th, 809 A.O.S.

9:45 A.M.

From 7:00 to 9:30 sharp, I autopsied and experimented on the dead creature's body.

What I found was nothing short of miraculous horrifying.

This creature has an unnaturally small number of body systems, only six in total. The skeletal, muscular, digestive, circulatory, immune, and nervous systems are present, but there is nothing to suggest the existence of reproductive, urinary, respiratory, endocrine, or lymphatic. And even the systems that are here are lacking many significant organs essential to their functions in the body.

The creature has no kidneys, lungs, liver, intestines, spleen, or pancreas. Nor does it have genitalia, male or female. The only organs it has are a heart and a stomach. I did not notice any of this during my first procedure (to remove the wooden beam from the creature) because of the thick layers of fat, muscle, and tissue directly under the black scales. Once it was peeled away, the bizarre anatomy became evident.

What the creature does possess are perhaps the most complicated nervous and circulatory systems I've ever seen. I thought at first that it didn't even have the former, but it does. The nerves of the monster are inside the veins and arteries.

Most of the creature's spine is connected to the aorta and the superior and inferior vena cavas. These main blood vessels are much larger and more flexible then what has been documented in most creatures. Attempting to cut one broke my scalpel, indicating incredible hardness. In fact, the properties of these blood vessels are almost reminiscent of wapometal. They are also completely transparent, which allowed me to make my discovery.

The reason for these properties is probably so that the breaches to the main blood vessels do not rupture open with movement. These breaches are fitted around the many nerves that branch out from the spine. These nerves then clump together within the main blood vessels and spread throughout the entire circulatory system, traveling down the lengths of the arteries and veins of the creature. For those reading this, think long, electric worms within pipes, and you'll get a distinct mental image of what I am seeing right now [1].

In place of normal internal structures is a massive heart, three times the size of one found in an average adult Tyrannosauridae Tyrannosaurus. It has five chambers, the four normal ones essential to blood circulation, and a new one underneath. The left and right ventricles and atriums are the only part of the blood system where nerves are not present. Instead, they branch off from the blood flow and enter the lower, sealed-off chamber. It is here where the most nerves are clustered together, but for what anatomical purpose I can't imagine.

The digestive system has been simplified to the point of grotesqueness. Food was still chewed and swallowed normally, but after traveling down the esophagus all processing seems to have taken place in the stomach, if it can even be called that. In fact, it may be more accurate to call the organ in question a perfect hybrid of all the necessary parts of the body involved in digestion, indicating some sort of superstructure. The stomach was just as indestructible as the blood vessels, and this time I did not have the fortune of it being transparent. A large, seal-off tube takes the unnecessary nutrients and fat to the rectum, and eventually to the anus for defecation.

The only systems with any semblance of normalcy are the muscular and skeletal systems, which are practically identical to those of the Spinosauridae Spinosaurus [2].

I performed a series of experiments on the corpse in order to get a better idea of how it's body worked.

First, I attached a Vegascanner to the creature's head and jumped-started the brain with enough Vegabolt to reanimate it, which caused the heart to start beating and the nerves to glow a deep magenta. As I expected, the cardiac cycle is different from anything I've seen before.

The two sounds the heart makes, named S1 and S2, occur at the beginning and ending of ventricular systole, respectively. However, during this systole a third sound occurs, which I have dubbed S1.5. This third sound is caused by an exceedingly quick contraction made by the lower chamber of the creature's heart, during which the clustered neurons light up a bright yellow. So the bottom of the heart is constantly alternating between yellow and red, yellow during contractions, red during relaxed periods.

Sigh, I need a freaking drink. I'll finish this entry at a later period [3].

[1] All pictures and hypothetical drawings are stored in my visual data books.

[2] For reference, the Spinosauridae Spinosaurus is also in my visual data books.

[3] Why did it take me so long to start using these? It makes these journal entries flow far better.

10:30 A.M.

The dragons have grown quite a bit since hatching on July 10th. In 19 days they've increased in size from 4 feet long to 14, and they show no signs of slowing down.

The Molly Carnation has been moved to an anechoic chamber. It began asking insistently, from its many faces, that I play a game with it. One face said that we should play chess, another wanted to play I Spy, and yet another wanted to place Gumi. The tree has 24 faces on it, and it wanted to play 24 different games.

Returning to the subject at hand, I will now move on to perhaps the most confounding part of the creature.

It's brain.

The creature's movements while under the influence of the Vegascanner indicated a relatively simple relationship between the center of the nervous system and the rest of the body. I thought that perhaps the brain would be similar to that found within the aforementioned Spinosaurus. How naive I was. A quick craniotomy revealed that the majority of the organ had already rotted away. Within the dead tissue was a single red orb, connected to the top of the brain stem, where the diencephalon usually is for humans.

Even with the Vegascanner deactivated, the orb pulsed with a reddish glow. I touched it with a pair of tweezers, and the entire corpse _twitched._

I have run no further experiments, for fear of what I may do to fast deteriorating monster.

12:00 P.M.

I've lost my appetite. I fear I may never eat again without recalling the nightmarish autopsy.

I am beginning to believe that what I have discovered is not of this world. Not even Vegapunk himself could have engineered a creature this abnormal, and while that statement may seem blasphemous, I have worked with Dr. Vegapunk for 18 years, half of my entire life. I am well acquainted with his abilities, and their limits.

And yet, despite all that, Nami's condition in relation to the creature is even more disturbing. She has displayed feral behavior on 12 separate occasions now, and remains locked in a deep coma otherwise. Despite her criminal background and unrepentant acts of piracy, I would be lying if I said I didn't feel any pity towards her. The poor girl may die, and even if she survives, she only has one arm. There aren't many people in this world capable of living a normal life without both arms.

12:01 P.M.

I was just reminded by Arpy that Red-Haired Shanks has only one arm and is one of the four most powerful pirates on the ocean. However, that does not fall within my definition of a 'normal life,' so my point still stands.

What happens to Nami now is beyond me, but I will do everything in my power to keep her stable. I feel it is imperative to remove the orb from the creature's head right away. It may be the key to unlocking this mystery.


	4. Chapter 4

1:00 P.M.

Arpy tore the orb out of the head, which greatly increased the rotting process of the corpse. It's been less than an hour, but already very little of the creature remains. Only it's bones and a few shreds of muscle.

The orb is perfectly spherical, and it was depressed into the brainstem. It has a diameter of 42.5 mm, or 1.67 inches. It's roughly the size of a golf ball, tiny compared to the titanic proportions of the creature. It does not change size, but holding it feels like touching a pulse. There is a clear beat within it, and it glows an eerie red.

Considering the impenetrable nature of the blood vessels and organs within the creature, I hypothesized that the orb would be even more indestructible. To test my theory, I did my level best to destroy it.

I first attempted to cut it with my largest and sharpest scalpel, but the effort only cost me the instrument. I then tried to smash it with a hammer. Again, no effect. I turned then to more creative means. I dropped it into a vat of highly acidic lava, a leftover from a failed dish-cleaning spray I was trying to invent. No effect. I tossed it into a blender, but the blades shattered after only one cycles. I tried to vaporize it with the beam turret Dr. Noric left me. Not even a scratch.

I attempted several other methods [1], but none came close to cracking the orb, let alone destroying it. Out of desperation, I left it in Arpy's training room and let him have a go with it for 20 minutes. He left the room with the orb in his hand. Dozens of palm-shaped and fist-shaped craters decorated the interior, with smaller, circular craters within them. And I know for a fact that the room has a thin seastone coating.

The orb was still unharmed.

I've given up trying to break the object and am now studying it intently. I hooked it up to the Vegascanner, and was startled to find that it glowed more brightly depending on how much Vegabolt was flowing through it. At 5,000 Vb, the orb was blinding.

But that wasn't the only change. The orb's beat grew more complex with the increase of energy. At first I chalked it up to a simple influx of electrical current, but it didn't take long for the beat to sound less like a heart and more like a _song rhythm_. Even worse, for a second I thought I heard a _voice_ singing along _to_ the rhythm, but it turned out to be my imagination.

I've stored the orb in a vault near my anechoic chamber, where I'm keeping the Molly Carnation. It's insistence for gaming is increasing, to the point that it almost sounds desperate.

[1] For more specific details, consult my records.

2:25 P.M.

An unbelievable development has occurred. Cat Burglar Nami is awake.

I found and stabilized her on the 20th, and today is the 29th. I've never seen anyone come out of a coma this fast before, and certainly not one as deep as the Cat Burglar's.

Still, her condition is rather poor. She internal structure is sound and I've prevented infection, but her body is unnaturally thin. Her breathing, pulse, and blood sugar are still too low compared to the average young adult female. She was probably in the early stage of starvation when I found her.

In the past hour, from 1:20 P.M to 2:10 P.M., I have conversed with the Cat Burglar. Our entire conversation was recorded and I am now copying it down here. It may start to resemble a theater script, because I will be adding in moments of significant movement and recognition. I've sharpie-d all major expletives. I don't like swearing.

This is what we said in that hour:

Cifer: _Hello? Can you hear me? Are you Cat Burglar Nami?_

Nami: (Cringes back, weary) _Who the **** are you?_

Cifer: _My name is Dr. Phillius Cifer. I'm the one in charge of this facility._

She begun to relax, but only a little. After noticing her missing arm, however, she started groaning obscenities. The effort left her exhausted and shivering.

Cifer: _…are you all right?_

Nami: (Starts laughing weakly) _What the **** do you think?_

Cifer: _I think you are in need of a lot of rest. I will return when you are in a better mood._

Nami: (Becomes panicked, shouts) _NO! Don't leave, please._ (Looks desperate)

Cifer: _You've been through a lot. I think it would be better if you rested._

Nami: _I don't need rest. I've been resting for a ******* week! Please!_

Against my better judgement, I stayed by her side. It wouldn't be until later that I realized she was aware of how long she had been in a coma.

Cifer: _Don't try to move around so much. It will only strain your body, and you do need rest._

Nami: (nods slightly) _Okay. Sorry, I, I'm usually not this clingy._

Cifer: _It's understandable. What you've been through has clearly traumatized you._

I don't think I was exaggerating. While it's never good to judge appearances, I will say that Nami's poster, despite its provocative nature, radiated confidence. I imagine she was much like Linda. None of that confidence was present in my conversation with her. She was constantly fighting for breath, even though her lungs were working. And her eyes were glazed over, staring into space.

With this in mind, I decided to hold off of asking her what happened. It would probably trigger bad memories. She needed to recover mentally.

Cifer: …would you like anything? Perhaps some food?

Nami: Sure.

Nami consumed a small soup I had prepared specifically for starved people. Mostly broth with a few shavings of meat and raw fiber. She gulped it down so quickly that I had to restrain her mildly, to keep her from spilling on herself.

After that, we continued to chat idly. I talked about my experiments. In fact, I did 96.5467% of the talking, according to my calculator. She had little to say in response, mostly just nodding and listening half-heartedly. It seemed to calm her down, and her movements became a bit more animated.

I know I said I would record this, but you can listen to it yourself. It's on one of my transponder record tapes in the snail room of my facility. Feeling a bit tired.

4:00 P.M.

I again conversed with Nami, at 3:45 to 3:56 P.M. She was more talkative this time.

Nami: You know, I've seen dragons before.

Cifer: Really? Where?

Nami: In the East Blue. There was a whole flock of them, on an island called Warship Island. We met this girl named Apis who could talk to animals.

Cifer: The Whisper-Whisper fruit?

Nami: (blinks rapidly) Yes, actually. How did you know?

Cifer: I've memorized every devil fruit in the books.

Nami: All of them!?

Cifer: Yes. As a scientist, it's only natural that I be aware of the many different powers and objects of scientific interest. That includes all fruits.

Nami: (smiles for the first time) Impressive. Do you have a devil fruit power?

Cifer: I do. It's called the Double-Double fruit.

I demonstrated my fruit's ability and doubled the cup of water near Nami's bed. I explained to her that I could double any inorganic object, with the exception being myself.

Nami: That's incredible! And you're a surgeon, right? Your fruit could make you a one-man operating team.

Cifer: That's exactly what I do! But I can only double myself twice. If I try again to make eight, I'll pass out. Breaking the rules of physics takes energy.

Nami: You know, I once knew a guy who could affect inorganic objects, but only himself. His name was Shiki, the Golden Lion.

I noticed the obvious disgust she emitted when saying his name, and after a bit of prodding, she told me the whole story of the crew's fight with the Golden Lion. I was rather impressed that Straw Hat had been able to defeat one of the most infamous pirates of the early days of the Age, but not that surprised. Shiki would be 72 now, according to his birthdate, and he had lost his legs. Even with his powers, Straw Hat probably had a distinct stamina advantage.

Nami: After we beat him, we sailed on towards the Red Line. We were about eleven months into our voyage by then. We were almost there…

She drifted off then, and the look of pain that crossed her face alerted me to the time of events.

Cifer: When did you defeat Shiki?

Nami: I'm not sure of the exact date. It was around…five weeks ago.

I nodded along, and quickly shut down the conversation with a plea to rest. She complied, and drifted off.

However, even as I write this, I can hear groans coming from Nami's room. She must be having a nightmare.

4:23 P.M.

The Molly Carnation killed itself. It turned into acid and completely wrecked my anechoic chamber. What a spiteful little shoot.

The dragons have become very agitated as of late. Arpy is seeing to them, but I worry.

The red orb remains a mystery.

This has been a long day. I think I'll turn in early tonight.


	5. Chapter 5

Cifer's Log, July 30th, 809 A.O.S.

7:00 A.M.

I fell asleep in my office shortly after my last journal entry, which turned out to be pretty fortunate. Arpy had scared Nami horribly just minutes before, to the point that she was flailing desperately to escape the bed. A futile gesture, as I made sure she was properly restrained. I didn't want her causing damage to her own body so far into her treatment. Still, she came close to tearing some of her stiches. I was thankfully able to get to her room in time and calm her down, I and explained to her that Arpy is not, in fact, the great Warlord of the Sea Bartholomew Kuma, but an early pacifista prototype designed by Vegapunk.

As before, I recorded the entire conversation. Some of it, anyway. Most I will skip because it was just screaming and swearing.

Nami: _What is he doing here?!_

Cifer: _I assure you, it's not who you think it is. This is a pacifista._

Nami: _A what?!_

Cifer: _A robot, basically, designed by the World Government as heavy infantry for combat situations and enforcement. They were based off Bartholomew Kuma in appearance, but they are not him._

Miraculously, Nami calmed down rather quickly after that. It helped that Apry showed her his hands, which were noticeably absent of any paws. That, combined with his apologetic nature, convinced Nami that who she was talking to was not the Warlord Kuma. Clearly, she had met Kuma before, for her to have such a reaction. I'm surprised that she survived the encounter.

Nami: _So, he's a robot built for killing pirates?_

Cifer: _Well, more or less. But Arpy is a prototype, designated PX-.5. He's actually the first pacifista Vegapunk made, and when I left the Solomon Facility I took him with me. I reprogrammed him for lab assistance, and dubbed him the Rogue Pacifista. Hence the name Arpy, spelled R-P._

Arpy: _I apologize for scaring you, ma'am. As a pirate, you are aware of my progenitor's position. I did not take into account your reaction to my appearance. I am sorry, ma'am._

After Arpy finished speaking, Nami's face momentarily contorted into an expression I had never seen before. I have dubbed it the incredibly-powerful-pirate-says-the-word-ma'am face.

Nami: _Oh. Well, I forgive you, and I'm sorry for freaking out. I've met Kuma before…_

My hypothesis was correct.

Nami: _…and he almost killed us. The crew, I mean. He said he would spare our lives if we let him take Luffy. We refused, and then he fired this air blast, and when we recovered, he was gone. Without Luffy._

Cifer: _That's interesting. Kuma has never failed to eliminate threats to the WG before._

Nami: _Our first mate Zoro might have scared him off, but I don't really know what happened. I was knocked out by the blast. And when I came to, Zoro was horrifically injured._

It was around this time that Nami's eyes began to glaze over. Again, I swiftly cut her memories short and had her eat a light breakfast. She then fell asleep.

Cifer's Log, August 3rd, 809 A.O.S.

10:00 A.M.

Good heavens, I've misplaced it again! I am beginning to fear that I will lose it permanently next time, so from now on I am keeping the damn thing in my desk, no exceptions.

A lot has happened in these last three days. I have continued to update my records with all new and repetitive patterns of activity concerning the dragons. Nothing of note, except for the increases in size, which are beginning to become exponential instead of sequential. My other experiment involving the Molly Carnation has been officially declared a failure, and a destructive one at that. I don't think I will ever be able to comprehend the literally inhuman minds of those abominable plants.

The orb remains inactive. However, I did experiment on one last aspect of it, and that was it's connection to Cat Burglar Nami.

The closer the orb is to her, the higher her brain wave frequency. She seems more alert and aware of her surroundings. The farther the orb is, the more her frequency declines, until it levels out at around 10.5647 Hz.

I have decided not to destroy the orb, because once the orb has found its new host, it will send its signal to E.R.O.B. Once E.R.O.B. has the signal, he will be able to continue his plans unimpeded.

It was unfortunate, what happened to the last host. Such a weak and tragic hman it must have been. Was it a pirate, or a marine Whoever it once was, it matters not. Nami will make a far stronger host, though I am still skeptical of E.R.O.B's goals. Just what could he want with this world, I wonder? As a scientist, I am not one to question the objective, but I still have my morals. I will continue the plan, but I will not damn any more souls then necessary.

They need to be helped.

Oh no.

What the hell did I just write?

Cifer's Log, August 4th, 809 A.O.S.

10:00 A.M.

Exhausted.

Arpy ran multiple scans on my brain and found no irregularities. But something is irregular. Something is terribly wrong.

The language I was writing in has become indecipherable to me. I have no memory of creating those symbols, and yet why do they seem so familiar?

This has to be the work of the orb. Perhaps whatever is influencing me lies buried within its pulsating body. I'm disgusted with myself, for not taking more precautions with the object, but it's too late now. I've been compromised.

However, I am not going to take this lying down. I will do what I must in the time I have before I am compromised again.

First, I have confined the orb in my most secure vault, the one I use for only the most dangerous experiments. Conveniently, this vault is far away from Nami.

I then put the entire base on lockdown. No one gets in or out without a specific set of codes, codes that I had Arpy change so that I wouldn't know them. I have the disturbing feeling that whatever is affecting me wants to get off of this island.

I cannot let this happen.

Cifer's Log, August 5th, 809 A.O.S.

Time is irrelevant.

E.R.O.B. grows impatient. I can feel it in my bones My mind has been bent to serve him now, through the orb. I recognize this. I also recognize that I have locked myself in in order to keep E.R.O.B's plants from bearing fruit.

How annoying.

It's strange. I was 'free' just minutes ago, doing everything in my power to keep myself, 'free'. Meditation, deep breathing, electric shocks, counting down from one million by thousands, then ten thousands. Of course, none of that helped at all.

However, and this is the strangest part, I feel totally fine. E.R.O.B. has a brilliant, scientifically sound plan for this world that is something I approve of. At least, I approve of it now. I doubt I will when I am 'free' again.

It's weird. If you are reading this, then I'm sure you've drawn the conclusion that the one writing this log is another person entirely. A person using a red pen instead of black, and speaks of things the first person is trying to oppose. But I am still Dr. Philius Cifer, former assistant to doctors Vegapunk Sojar and Noric Juffin. Former lover of Hendri Linda. I love dragons, machine, reading and writing. I love the arts as much as I live the branches of science.

I love helping people.

And I still do, though I'm sure the 'free' me is horrified at what my help entails now. Well, that will be solved soon enough. E.R.O.B's plan can't be stopped for long, not while Nami is still alive. The orb will be consumed, it's powers passed on. Hopefully this host will be strong enough to master it, instead of letting it twist her mind and body like the last host.

Still, if that does happen, I wonder what form she will take? Will it be a butterfly, dark as night with brilliant red wings? Perhaps a snake, it's fangs dripping with magenta poison?

Hopefully I never find out. E.R.O.B. will probably kill me if this fails. I'm certainly not okay with that.

9:56 P.M.

I'm running out of time.


	6. Chapter 6

Cifer's Log.

Final Entry.

I have failed.

Everything I have devoted myself too, everything, is gone. The orb is gone. E.R.O.B's blessed presence in my heart, gone. I can feel nothing but impending death.

It took hours, but I finally convinced Arpy that it was the 'free' me talking. He let down his guard and gave me the password to the vault. What a dumb hunk of metal. As soon as I had the opportunity, I deactivated it.

The orb was mine again, and I began to take it to the host's room. Once she swallowed it, the process would be complete and E.R.O.B. could begin his invasion. But at the last second, I lost control to the 'free' me.

He began to take it back to the vault, but then he stopped for some reason. He walked to his office and sat at his desk.

Now, bear in mind that I am still Philius Cifer. There is no second voice in my head, only E.R.O.B's heavenly, benevolent influence. But if I was the second voice, temporarily buried in the recesses of my mind, I would have been confused. I would have internally chuckled at the 'free' me's actions.

I wasn't laughing for long.

It was such a simple trick, one that I hadn't even considered. As soon as the 'free' me felt his control slip, he doubled. A body for him, and a body for me.

An orb for him, and an orb for me.

E.R.O.B's enlightenment did not reach the second body, giving the traitor all the time he needed to attack me. Every injury he inflicted, every punch, scrap, and bruise, he undoubtedly suffered as well. The great weakness of the Double-Double Fruit.

I tried to escape, but he was relentless. I was horrified by his behavior. He kept screaming that I wasn't him, that I was a monster, a ghost of some great evil. I admit I was pretty hurt. Did he not know that he was hurting his own person? That I am and have always been me?

What a pathetic person the 'free' me is. He can't see the inherent beauty of E.R.O.B's plan. Sure, many will die, but I still have my morals. I would never sacrifice souls for fun. It's for a greater good, a greater purpose.

Not that it matters now. There were two orbs at that moment, and I know, I just know that 'free' was betting on something happening because of that. He was desperate, but he was right. I don't understand it myself, but the orbs…did not react well to each other. Honestly, what occurred went against the laws of physics. Anti-matter doesn't react negatively to anti-matter. Only matter. So why is it that one orb reacted negatively to its exact replica? Perhaps the level of power inherently invested in the orbs so great that it… couldn't handle itself?

Whatever the case, the orbs exploded. Violently. The double was killed instantly and disintegrated. I got a hole blasted through my side. The explosion wrecked my desk and pens, which is why I'm writing in blood right now. Honestly, finishing this journal entry is the only thing keeping me alive right now. I refuse to die before I let the world know what occurred here. A good scientist will always persevere until every last drop of his life is recorded.

Literally, in my case.

OH NO, NOT YET, NO-

6:97 P.M.

I must be pretty delirious from blood loss, because the three in the 6:37 I just wrote kind of looks like a nine.

I shut down the shutdown, so Nami can getoutifshewants. It's hard to say what I'm most disappointed in when it comes to myself. And it IS me this time. I guarantee it.

I'm terrified. I've never died before. I can't imagine what it's like. I wish I could record it. Write it. Something. Arpy will reactivate, maybe, to protect Nami. No sure to be.

It's gettingdark, everything blurring. Linda….


	7. Epilogue

The air was cold and stale. Arpy didn't care, or even notice. He simply continued his assignment, without a word. Being a pacifista made him a creature of few words to begin with, but he was especially quiet now. Somber, and heavy with emotions he really shouldn't have been feeling. Sadness. Anguish. A deep sense of loss. Cifer was dead. The very thought froze his electric neurons the moment it passed through them, and only deepened his sense of despair. Of course, no one would be able to even identify these feelings within him, as his expression did not change at all as he worked. Carefully, so very, very carefully, he unhooked Nami's machines and gently picked her up from the bed. He cradled her close to his chest, and slowly walked out of the room. He walked down the hallway, his booming footsteps not stirring the sleeping girl in his arms. Arpy felt a new emotion then; thankfulness. He was thankful...that Nami had not woken up. Arpy let a small smile creep onto his lips, a self-congratulatory reward for his deduction. He was more than large enough to hold Nami in one arm, as he used the other hand to activate the elevator. They rose quickly, and suddenly Arpy was in a whole other world, a natural, homely one. He was in the spacious, wooden villa that Cifer had lived in when he was still alive. Arpy took Nami to the guest room. She looked stronger, not as frail as she had been just a few weeks ago. Her right shoulder was clean and freshly bandaged, and her left, remaining arm had healed completely. Her head, fully shaved during surgery, was covered with short orange locks once again. The surgical scars on her stomach and skull had faded. The great robot carefully laid her down and left the room, and when Nami woke up two hours later, Arpy served her tea and crumpets. She was just finishing her third cup when he told her that Cifer had passed away. She didn't take it well. Cifer had replaced one of Arpy's lasers with an emitter, for quick and efficient bursts of sleeping gas. Surgical precautions and all that. It put her down for another three hours, and when she awoke again, she cried herself into a deep sleep that lasted the night. As she slept within the villa, Arpy descended into the depths of the facility, one last time. He carefully went through every room, destroying experiments and records, until all that was left was Cifer's journal. His log. Arpy kept it in his pocket. He destroyed everything else. Except for the dragons. He released those into the night sky, and allowed yet another muted smile at the sight of their frantic, enduring flight. Where would they go? He could not say. Perhaps they would make it back to Vegapunk one day. He hoped that was the case. He buried Cifer in the garden, and carefully carved the most simplistic tombstone he could out of the mountain that towered over the villa. He was just lasering in Cifer's name and date of birth when the sun rose, and Nami awoke and started crying all over again. Arpy let her be. One week passed. Then two. Then a ship appeared on the horizon. Arpy recognized the flag. He smiled again. There was shock, then anger. Arpy was not surprised. They had fought Kuma before, and they were wary. But then there was joy. So much joy that it threatened to choke and strangle the tangled web of emotional receptors in Arpy's limited brainspace. So much joy, that it brought a tear to his eye. It was the first time his experimental tear ducts had activated. Cifer had implanted them, so long ago XXX "I think it's unfortunate that Vegapunk limited the emotional diversity of his creations. You should be able to experience what we do, don't you think?" "I was reprogrammed to serve you, Dr. Cifer. That is my only prerogative." "That's nonsense! This will be a great experiment, and besides, I think you will enjoy the experience." "Of crying?" "Well, maybe not crying specifically, but of feeling. There's only so much I can do, but for you to feel...that would be simply amazing." "Why do you care if I feel or not?" "Because the more you feel, the more you care." "That means that you feel a lot." "Exactly, Arpy! Do you know why I became a doctor? A scientist?" "You had an aptitude for it." "Yes, but also because I felt everything they were feeling. Every time someone laughed, I laughed too! And when someone was crying, I cried with them! I felt what others were feeling so much that I couldn't help but care for everyone that I met!" "That indicates abnormally high levels of cognitive and emotional empathy, Dr. Cifer." "Yes! And I think you have the potential to be a caring, kind individual." "Like you?" "Well...I suppose. Do you think I am kind?" "Based strictly on the definition of kindness, you are kind, Dr. Cifer." "Hah! Now you're getting it! Sort of! Come on, let's begin the surgery!" XXX Arpy watched as the Straw Hats laughed with Nami, and cried with Nami, and suddenly, he got it. He understood that conversation, so long ago. And he also understood, in that moment, just what a wonderful person Dr. Cifer had been. Arpy gave Cifer's log to Nico Robin. He asked her to keep it save. She promised she would. Cutty Flam promised to build Nami a new arm, and this only heightened the joy Arpy was feeling. He watched them leave. He smiled again. He destroyed the facility. What was left of it. Then he sat before Cifer's grave. It was adorned with little knick-knacks, objects from the Straw Hat's ship. None of them had met him, but they all honored him in his death. Honored him, for saving the life of their friend. This brought another tear to Arpy's pupilless eye. Arpy wondered briefly if Nami would suffer any more under the influence of E.R.O.B. He thought not. A spark had returned to her eyes. That was all the proof he needed. He whispered two words, then deactivated, awaiting the next person that would find him. "Thank you." THE END


End file.
